Interesting that it is the second place team from England’s group who miss out on the play-offs - suggests the group was quite weak with no stand-out second or third place team. Unlike groups which had Itally and Spain together, Switzerland and Portugal, and France/Sweden/Holland, for eg.

Bet we get Panama in the group, so ITV and the Sun think we are nailed on for getting into the next round, only to lose 1-0 to the Canalmen after 80% possession with no shots on target and only two touches in their box. Luckily no one will still be awake to see it.

This is because whilst Northern Ireland lost their last two games, Denmark won one and drew one so will overtake N Ireland in the rankings. Sweden won one (only against Luxembourg) and lost one so I believe Denmark got enough coefficient points to overtake them as well.

This is because whilst Northern Ireland lost their last two games, Denmark won one and drew one so will overtake N Ireland in the rankings. Sweden won one (only against Luxembourg) and lost one so I believe Denmark got enough coefficient points to overtake them as well.

Rankings confirmed today. NI will not be able to draw Ireland, as per above post.

And so it starts again. 20 teams remain in contention for the last nine placesAll to be settled in one week

Europe got us started, with two games last nightCroatia have stamped their credentials with a big 4-1 win at home to Greece: They were always on top during the game

The goalscoring in Zagreb was complete before the controversial incident at Windsor Park, BelfastCorry Evans was rules to have handled a shot, and leaves Michael O'Neill wishing that Video Replays were available to the refereeHaving seen a TV replay, it seems unlikely that the penalty would have been awardedHowever, all the reports say that Switzerland were the better team

Sweden play Italy in Solna tonight, while earlier in Polokwane there is the re-scheduled South Africa v Senegal gameSouth Africa won this game when originally played a year ago, but the result was annulled and ordered to be replayedSouth Africa need to win again to stay in the race. A win for Senegal sends them to RussiaBurkina Faso and Cape Verde are also still in contention, and will be watching with interest

In Polokwane, Senegal won 2-0, goals from Diafra Sakho and an own goal by Thamsanqu Mkhize, which means24. Senegal are qualified, while43. South Africa42. Cape Verde Islands and41. Burkina Fasoare all eliminated simultaneously

The match in Honduras finishd scoreless, as did the second of the intercontinental play-off games, New Zealand 0-0 PeruToday's games will see the decisions made for the last two African places in the finals, and Denmark will play Ireland in their first leg in Copenhaven

Apparently the group C match in Africa finished before the Group A game.The game in question was Cote d'Ivoire v Morocco, with the visitors requiring a draw to secure qualification, while the home team would have been through with a win

Two first half goals secured the points for Morocco, so we have

25. Morocco going through and40. Cote d'Ivoire knocked out.

Celebrations were wild enough to mean riot police were called out onto the streets in Brussels. Oddly, the (British) press report on this did not mention celebrations in any Moroccan city!

In Group A, Tunisia needed only a point to qualify, playing against a Libyan team who were bottom of the tableDR Congo had to beat Guinea and hope the Libyans would win, and while Congo achieved all they could (a 3-1 win), Tunisia made it through with a scoreless draw. Reports say that only the Libyan keeper, Nashnoush stood between Tunisia and a fairly easy win

Hence26. Tunisia are in the finals,39. DR Congo miss out

The other African results over the last few days were all dead matches, as are the final two games on TuesdayAttention now switches to Europe, with second legs starting today

No goals in the first half this morning, but an own goal early in the second set Australia on their way, this was followed by two penalties. Honduras scored a consolation near the end. So 3-1 on aggregate and

31. Australia become the penultimate side to book a place in the finals, while

So Peru take on NZ tonight (their time) early hours of tomorrow morning (our time) and tomorrow afternoon (NZ time). Depending who wins, either Wednesday 15th or Thursday 16th will be remembered as the day they qualified for the WC.

And so, after 872 matches (official tally) and 2,454 goals, the qualification process comes to and end.The final goal of qualification was scored by Christian Ramos from close range in the 65th minute of the game in LimaIt placed his team 2-0 up, both on the day, and on aggregate - meaning that

32. Peru fill the final spot in Russia, (as it happens, the other goalscorer, Jefferson Farfan plays club football in Russia, for Lokomotiv Moscow)

last to be eliminated33. New Zealand

The game took place on 15 November 2017 - the first game was in Dili, Timor Leste on 12 March 2015The first (and second) goalscorer was Chiquito do Carmo for Timor Leste.

Although Timor Leste beat Mongolia, the match is relegated to a footnote as part of a scandal that has set back the game in the country. Timor Leste played a number of players who were naturalised, mainly born in Brazil.

No less than seven of the Timorese who played Palestine in October 2015 were not actually local. The Timor-Leaste team led until a late equalising goal. Palestine submitted a complaint that some of them were not eligible.

There was also concern and protests within Timor-Leste about the practise, and from the next series of games, they used only local players, conceding 25 goals in the remaining three qualification games. So their World Cup record with the Brazilians was Pld 7, W 2 D 2 L 3 F 7 A 12and without them Pld 3 W 0 D 0 L 3 F 0 A 25

The Asian Football Confederation rules in January this year that these games are forfeited, and do not appear on official records. They have also banned Timor Leste from qualification games for the 2023 Asian Cup, and Amândio de Araújo Sarmento was banned from all football activity for three years. The last part of the ban has been extended by FIFA from Asia to the whole World. Sarmento may also face legal sanction at home, as he obtained naturalisation for the players by using falsified documentation regarding the players' parents or grandparents births.

It is not clear whether or not Timor-Leste will be permitted to play in the 2022 World Cup qualification process.

29. PeruNo goals in two games, so no excuses and home after their next gameIf Australia beat Peru as well, then they have a good chance of progressing- but then, will France (already through) play a weaker team against Denmark? A draw sees them both through

27. and 26. Tunisia and PanamaBoth knocked out without a point once England had completed their win over PanamaI joked, sometime in the first half that a 6-1 win left the top of the group decided on bookings, and low and behold, it ended 6-1

25. PolandThe only way to describe Poland's performance today is "poor"

About time cheating was given the red card. That Portugal player feigning injury to his face was a disgrace and as he’s attempting to change the outcome of the game should get a retrospective ban, seeing as the ref did naff all about it at the time. It’s the only way to stop cheating once and for all.